“I can’t believe he’s involved.” Clarence shook his head. “Victor Strong of all people. Damn it, why him?” he grumbled to himself, he was in a foul mood. After losing the damn Wolf and his run in with Victor, he’d now found signs of the low-life Skotall in Central Park and the surrounding area. The dark Elf had been on the Directive’s radar for a while, but every time one of their operatives had gotten anywhere near the power hungry little shit, he seemed to disappear with no trail left for them to follow.

This time Clarence was determined to find him and lock him up for good, or better still, he’d rip the blaggard’s black heart out of his chest. He wasn’t worth the space of a cell, or the cost of keeping him alive. What amazed him was the fact the slimy cocksucker managed to talk others into joining him and doing his dirty work for him. Skotall wasn’t large, or all that powerful, so he used others to do the labors he couldn’t do himself. Like hunting down Dragons, and going by the information he’d been given that’s what Skotall was in New York for.

He was on the trail of a lone female Dragon, hunting her for her magic, and Clarence was going to ensure that he failed. Bastard wasn’t going to succeed, not on his watch, and he also suspected the rogue Wolf and the two young Vamplings were involved. It was too much of a coincidence otherwise . . . and he didn’t believe in coincidences.

No. Skotall was behind this mess and he was going to put a stop to him once and for all.

“I’ll find you, you little toad. And when I do you’ll pay for making me run around after you like this. Not to mention having to deal with Victor High-And-Mighty Strong!” Clarence muttered to himself angrily. “At least the young Vamps won’t be out and about now,” he carried on, mumbling aloud as his thoughts ran around in his head.

Although he’d heard there was more than one Wolf in Skotall’s merry little band so he had to keep his wits about him. The slippery Elf was rumored to have been practicing dark magic but so far he’d not been able to either confirm that or find out how adept he was. He’d fleetingly wondered about putting in a call and asking for a Witch to be sent for back-up, but decided against it for several reasons. Mainly his pride stood in the way of him making the call, but there was also the time constraint. He didn’t want to wait around for one to arrive.

He’d spent the last few hours trawling the dregs of their society, badgering, bribing and threatening to get information. When he’d garnered all that he thought he could, he’d made his way to an elite club to spend an hour to unwind and feed. Although he took his pleasure, wild and often, he refused to drink straight from a live donor, preferring to take his sustenance from donated blood which he drank from goblets like fine wine.

He never understood Vampire’s like Victor Strong who, until recently, had refrained from surviving on human blood. It was their choice, of course, but he’d never apologize for what he was and he was a Vampire, plain and simple. A predator that lived on the blood of others and there was nothing as delicious, as tempting, as glorious as human blood dripping across his tongue and down his throat. He just thought it rather coarse and beneath him to tear into someone’s flesh to get it. He much preferred sinking his cock inside a woman, rather than his fangs.

Each to his own, he supposed.

Clarence was an Enforcer, deadly and a cold-hearted killer when it was required, but at heart he was an old fashioned romantic when it came to women. He enjoyed his dalliances with them, giving them as much pleasure as he took, hearing them scream in satisfaction brought a smile to his normally cold, hard face. His dark brown eyes would brighten and twinkle when he brought them to orgasm, over and over, as he pounded into them, holding back from his own release until he’d torn multiple ones from them first.

Their sighs of dejection when he left always brought a chuckle from him. He’d give them a peck on the cheek, telling them they’d been magnificent and the best he’d ever had. Yes, until the next time. Clarence’s appetite for sex was as robust as his appetite for blood. He craved it as much, if not more, than the crimson liquid that sustained him, and it was easier to obtain. Thank goodness.

With his dashing good looks and suave sophistication, he didn’t have to use his Vampire abilities to get his fix. Even if he were nowhere near one of the usual clubs, or Directive approved sites for feeding and other pursuits. He could slip into any number of bars or clubs and always leave with someone on his arm. Hell, he’d sometimes have more than one and those nights were spectacular for all concerned. He spoke many languages, had many accents to use, but here in the US he found his own home grown English accent usually did the trick.

Sighing, he looked around, adjusting his growing arousal as he tried to focus on the job at hand: searching the ground for any sign that would lead him to Skotall. He knew the man’s tracks, had seen them many times in the past, small feet to go with his small, stocky stature. If he was around then he’d find him, even if he had to search the entire park and beyond, and if he were here for a few days more that wouldn’t be so bad because then he could return to that sweet redhead he’d been with earlier.

Yes, that’d be a nice little visit. She could wrap those sweet lips around me again, he thought as he wandered through the park, his eyes scanning for signs of Wolves and a dark Elf he desperately wanted to sink his teeth into. That was definitely something he was looking forward to . . . ending that abominable little fuck.

He relished the moment when he took that player off the field. Skotall was an annoyance that had avoided other Directive Enforcer’s but he wasn’t about to allow him to slip through his fingers if he could help it. Not when he had evidence he was right here in New York and definitely not when his grubby little hands were after a Dragon. There were far too few of them left and Clarence was not allowing that loathsome Elf to get his filthy mitts on her.

His lips set in a hard line as a whiff of Wolf wafted his way, his head spinning to his left and his feet making no sound as he left the path and entered the trees. “I’m coming for you,” he whispered coldly, allowing his senses to lead him to his prey.